Friday, October 7, 2016

I Stream, You Stream Vol. 4

by Patrick Bromley
Get ready for more #ScaryMovieMonth picks!

Ginger Snaps (2001, dir. John Fawcett) One of the better werewolf films of the 2000s is this Canadian production about two outcast sisters (Emily Perkins and Katherine Isabelle in a "holy shit who is that?" great performance) whose airtight relationship is damaged when one of them begins changing into a monster. So many monster movies have likened the transformation experience to puberty, but always through the male perspective. It's hard to believe it took until the 2000s for someone to write a really sharp, well-observed script that does the same for young women. This was the kind of horror movie that was considered underrated for several years, but pretty much everyone has caught up to it being special. (Watch on Hulu)
The Houses October Built (2014, dir. Bobby Roe) Adam Riske is going to kill me for this. He hated this movie, but I think it's kind of interesting. Part documentary about "extreme haunts" (no thank you), part straightforward found footage horror movie, there are moments and images in The Houses October Built that really, really work. It has the same problems as almost all found footage movies, but has more going for it, too. (Watch on Netflix)
Nina Forever (2016, dir. Ben & Chris Blaine) I really liked this movie when I saw it early this year. It's more of a romantic comedy drama told through the prism of horror tropes -- a guy's undead girlfriend reappears in a pool of blood every time he tries to get intimate with his new love interest -- but it does something that horror films do better than pretty much any other genre, which is explore some very real phenomenon or human condition but dresses it up in monsters and ghosts and blood. You won't be able to see it on Netflix or Hulu, as it's available to stream exclusively on Shudder. (Watch on Shudder)
Suburban Gothic (2014, dir. Richard Bates Jr.) Besides having one of the coolest posters I've seen in a while, Richard Bates Jr.'s second film is, like Nina Forever, more interested in being a comedy about a generation being "stuck" (the ghosts are, like, a metaphor, man) than in real scares. But it's smart and observant and it's funny, with great performances from Matthew Gray Gubler and Ray Wise, so the lack of true scares doesn't really matter. Like with all of Bates' work so far, the film has its own weird energy. It's really fun. (Watch on Amazon Prime Video)
Trick or Treat (1986, dir. Charles Martin Smith) I still remember seeing commercials for Trick or Treat back when it was coming out and I was too young to see it and the movie felt dangerous. A HORROR movie about METAL? And Ozzy Osborne and Gene Simmons are both in it? Finally seeing it years later, I discovered that the movie is...kind of lame. Maybe I would have been less afraid of it as a kid had I known that it was the directorial debut of Terry the Toad. Though still somewhat hard to come by these days (I'm really surprised one of these boutique labels hasn't snatched it up for a special edition release, but I'm guessing it's a rights issue), I have a soft spot for watching Skippy as a typical '80s metal kid taking revenge on the kids who bully him and I still think Sammy Curr is a pretty good horror villain. Sure, the movie is dated, but it's probably still my favorite heavy metal horror movie. I also unironically enjoy the theme song by those titans of metal Fastway. Your mileage may vary. (Watch on 80sHorror.net)

9 comments:

  1. Just joined Shudder Canada 5 minutes ago but Nina Forever ain't on there. So not surprisingly I guess it'll be like Netflix - about 230 titles on there so far so I'm sure I'll get my $5/month worth.

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  2. I loved The House October Built. It really creeped me out and I never get creeped out. It's definitely in my top ten found footage ever. I'd be interested to know how other people that have seen it feel.

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    1. You know my thoughts - "Houses..." was one of the top five worst movies I watched that year. Absolute garbage but, hey, I also liked #Horror so what the fuck do I know? :)

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    2. Ugh.... you guys are making me want to sit through another found footage flick...

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    3. Here are the FF movies worth seeing: WNUF Halloween Special, Noroi, Lake Mungo, Troll Hunter, The Sacrament, Creep, Home Movie, As Above So Below, The Conspiracy, Mr. Jones, Come Back to Me, Lovely Molly, Rec, Cloverfield, YellowBrickRoad (the sound design was so off putting it really creeped me out), most of VHS2, PA 3 for whatever reason (the oscillating fan cam was a great gimmick at the time for an already stale genre), Chronicle, although not Horror, was really clever and made the most sense in being able to use different camera angles for the genre.

      I wrote this list a year ago so it's a bit out of date - there might be a few more since. "Houses..." ain't one of em :)

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    4. Thanks for the Houses that October Built recommendation - I am actually a fan of Found Footage but this one I didn't finish (which I think was more due to falling asleep and/or attempting to watch it on my tiny iphone).

      Chaybee - Great FF list. I've seen them all except WNUF and Noroi, so thank you for the recs (damnit I used to be such a J-Horror fan; I'm ashamed I still haven't seen Noroi). I'm impressed with the Lake Mungo plug; I thought that that was such a great little gem and have been rooting for it though most of my horror friends found it boring (but they seem to like the current season of AHS, so go figure). I'd also like to add Digging Up the Marrow to your list, which I thought was a blast, and The Taking of Deborah Logan.

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  3. Trick or Treat '86 is probably the best made "Rock N Roll" Horror film. It's fantastic although on any given day I might prefer Slaughterhouse Rock and Black Roses.

    Ray Wise is worth the price of admission to Suburban Gothic although the think there is a ton to like about that film. I dug it a lot (I'm also partial cause the director is from my area).

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